Back Against The Wall

Album: Cage The Elephant (2008)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This is the fourth single from Kentucky Rock five-piece Cage the Elephant's self-titled debut album. The song reached #1 on Billboard's Alternative Songs, the band's first release to top the chart.
  • Though most of Cage the Elephant's songs are autobiographical, their true meaning are not always apparent. Lead singer and chief songwriter Matt Shultz told TheyWillRockYou: "Most of the time everything I write is pretty personal. I just write it in code… make it really cryptic so it doesn't hurt the people that are around me or expose myself too much."
  • In the song's music video, the band wages war against some gnomes. Shultz told Metmomix: "My grandmother had several gnomes in her yard. I'm not completely sure why but they creeped me out. They had those painted eyes that always seemed to follow you no matter where you stood. I hate that. I can't stand the Travelocity gnome either."

Comments: 1

  • Elmer H from Westville, OkNumber One hit song from Cage The Elephant & I love it. "Back Against The Wall" is still played on the alternative rock stations in my area which speaks to the popularity of the song & this band. Their new album is due out soon (2013).
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Janis Ian

Janis IanSongwriter Interviews

One of the first successful female singer-songwriters, Janis had her first hit in 1967 at age 15.

Lace the Music: How LSD Changed Popular Music

Lace the Music: How LSD Changed Popular MusicSong Writing

Starting in Virginia City, Nevada and rippling out to the Haight-Ashbury, LSD reshaped popular music.

Jimmy Jam

Jimmy JamSongwriter Interviews

The powerhouse producer behind Janet Jackson's hits talks about his Boyz II Men ballads and regrouping The Time.

Dar Williams

Dar WilliamsSongwriter Interviews

A popular contemporary folk singer, Williams still remembers the sticky note that changed her life in college.

Commercials

CommercialsFact or Fiction

Was "Ring Of Fire" really used to sell hemorrhoid cream?

Reverend Horton Heat

Reverend Horton HeatSongwriter Interviews

The Reverend rants on psychobilly and the egghead academics he bashes in one of his more popular songs.